Pledge of Allegiance; is it just an American thing?

Being an ex-pat, and looking back on grade school with a flag in every classroom and the ritualized pledging and singing and all that, it's really kind of fascinating when you think about it.

Daily rituals, from an early age. Patriotism? Or simple indoctrination.

I wonder if any other countries do this. I know that Japan used to have something similar, before we put a stop to it. What about England, France, Canada, etc...

Exceptionalism is ingrained in every country's ethos.

Ours is the greatest country in the world, and I am soo lucky to be here!

Can you imagine the chaos that would ensue otherwise?

like our nationalism.

Most countries have national pride, and to the casual observer it will look similar to what we see here, but for many countries when they have pride in their "great nation" they are speaking of their PEOPLE and history together, not on the "land".

It is hard to describe, Russia is becoming Paternalistic now. But the first time I learned the name that Russians call their "motherland", "Rodnaya", I immediately recognized it. The word "Rodnaya" is the same word they use for "closest family". They feel a connection to each other and their history, the PEOPLE, not the "land" they are in. The land and it's government and economics is secondary. And this is what people sometimes mistake for what we do here, which is quite different.

Unfortunatly Putin has learned well and is now stoking up the kind of "Patriotism" we have, building a nationalistic youth movement. And of course, what they are seeing along with it is intolerance, pridefullness, and bullying.

Nationalism is an ideology, a sentiment, a form of culture, or a social movement that focuses on the nation. The English word "nation" come from French word "nation" (itself derived from the Latin term natio), meaning:

The action of being born; birth; or
The goddess personifying birth; or
A breed (like a dog), stock, kind, species, race; or
A tribe, or (rhetorically, any) set of people (contemptuous); or
A nation or people.

So nationalism is devotion to the motherland.

Patriotism is love of and/or devotion to one's country. The word comes from the Greek patris, meaning fatherland.

Couriously, Mexicans refer to Mexico as: "La Madre Patria". (The mother father? Weird)

I used the word exceptionalism, not nationalism or patriotism, advisedly.

The history is pretty interesting really - kids all did the straight-arm Nazi thing until FDR changed it to the hand over the heart.

Overt nationalism tends to kick in during wars, and there wasn't much of a break during the 20th century.

It always creeped me out in school. I did get in trouble for never speaking the words, and for just standing with my arms folded instead of hand over heart, or sitting if I could get away with it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pledge_of_Allegiance

on edit - added link

When I was in grade school, one of my classmates was forbidden to ~pledge allegiance~ and was ostracized because of it. As was his family.

I'd like to see some answers from our DUers who aren't in the US.

I don't think there's an equivalent to the Pledge of Allegiance anywhere. Certainly not in Canada.

National anthem at hockey games for some reason, but that's about it.

O Canada is played in the mornings. I could be wrong. We used to sing the anthem, say the Lord's Prayer every morning, and stand for God Save the Queen at the end of the day.

Edited for typo.

the American flag-fetish is considered a bit weird and creepy here. You don't see Union flags all that often, and the people who have them are usually right-wing types. You'll hear 'God Save the Queen' at sporting events and sung by the crowd at England international football matches, etc, but not the rest of the time.

Does the pledge expire after 24 hours?

:shrug:

is all the flags. It often seems as if you can't go 20ft without seeing a flag in America. And lapel pins, and of course the pledge of allegiance every day.

It's like you'll forget what country you're in if you're not reminded every few seconds.

I've had the same thought.

A neighbor of mine when I was a child had an enormous flagpole in his yard. I always wondered whether he thought the rest of the neighborhood was in some other country. Perhaps he expected to be the last outpost in the event of invasion.

That's about it.

That was one of things I noticed in Canada - Maple Leaf Flags everywhere.

Interesting that there is very little information on this question. Google comes up with conflicting answers.

Thanks everyone for the interesting replies. Please keep em coming (particularly if you have info on other countries, their rituals or songs or whatever).

that Ms. Depa recited as a small child (in "infant's school" whatever that is)- but that's long gone from schools as far as she can tell.

to indoctrinate kids who had grown up with this idea of the "Union" as a foreign country that the country was INDIVISIBLE and we were all in the same Republic ONE NATION (and of course no "under God."

He pointed out that among the "democratic nations", ONLY in America does the term "un-" (eg: '"un-American") get much traction. In Italy, for example, a person would probably be laughed at for saying "un-Italian"! Chomsky is referring mainly to "internal enemies (ie: "subversives").

"ANTI-" is of course, another matter, but it refers primarily to an external "hostile".

pnorman

There was a feeling afoot that it might be a good idea to use whatever means they could to assimilate these children as fast as possible, and Francis Bellamy, who was both a Socialist and a Baptist minister, wrote it in 1892. It was rolled out in a young people's magazine in time for the National Public-School Celebration of Columbus Day--the 400th anniversary.

There's more at Wikipedia. Of course it's patriotic, it indoctrinates, all that. But it also unifies -- e pluribus unum.

I have no problem with it at all. I do have a problem with the RW fundy spam I periodically get that alleges that the damn thing was handed down by George Washington in 1776 along with In God We Trust on the coinage because we Americans used to be, y'know, so godly. I object to the rewriting of American history -- now, THAT's propaganda.

Hekate

I recall hearing one woman who went through the Nazi era in Germany describe it in those words.

You really don't see the national flag plastered on *everything* in most other countries the way you do here.

In fact it's one of the defining characteristics of fascism.

http://www.ellensplace.net/fascism.html

1. Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism

From the prominent displays of flags and bunting to the ubiquitous lapel pins, the fervor to show patriotic nationalism, both on the part of the regime itself and of citizens caught up in its frenzy, was always obvious. Catchy slogans, pride in the military, and demands for unity were common themes in expressing this nationalism. It was usually coupled with a suspicion of things foreign that often bordered on xenophobia.

I remember flags adorning most homes, and every classroom, even as far back as the 70's.

Granted, it reached a certain peak after 9/11 (I don't remember many lapels before then), but it has always been a mainstay of American life.

I'm not sure I'd go so far as to say America has been fascist since the 1970's though. I appreciate your point, but at the same time I think there's a fine line between that and fervent patriotism (or maybe not, yikes!)?